Spicy Lemon-Marinated Shrimp Reviews

Terms like large and jumbo can vary among fishmongers. In this recipe we used what are known universally as "U 16/20s" (16 to 20 of them make a pound). We asked
our fishmonger to shell and devein the shrimp for us. It cost a little more but saved lots of time.

The dried Aleppo chile flakes we call for in this recipe are from the Aleppo province of northern Syria. Their earthy, robust flavorwith more richness than heatis famous throughout the Middle East.

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Reviews

users rating3.5/4

I LOVE THIS SHRIMP RECIPE! My friend brought it to a neighborhood Happy Hour & I could have eaten the entire bowl. A few things - make sure you use BIG shrimp. I use ground coriander since ready to go. And we don't like spicy, so don't use the pepper flakes - still is fabulously good.

I am picky and don't even like shrimp all that much. This is an AMAZING recipe. As long as you don't over-boil the shrimp, they stay tender, even with a day or more of marination. The one thing I added was smoked paprika. It adds an interesting dimension to the already deep flavors, and the color is spectacular. As other reviewers have stated, be prepared for these to disappear. I brought them to a party and they were gone within ten minutes. Hubby was bummed. Like me, he's not a fan of shrimp. He LOVES this.

We love this recipe...I made it the first time for a 40th birthday party and make it for nearly every large party that we host. I also make the version for 8 for smaller gatherings. I'm always getting requests for the recipe and checked on this website to see if it was here so I could refer my guests to the website rather than write it out...again! Thanks for keeping us all well-fed.

RATING UPDATE. I rated this recipe on 05/07/03. Since then I've made it several times with the following change. Instead of using my (rather expensive but excellent) pickling spices (from Pensey's) in the boil, I use them in the marinade.
For about 1.5 pounds of 26-30 frozen shrimp (I really like Coleson's Catch), I grind about 1 tablespoon of pickling spices, the coriander, 1.5 teaspoons red pepper flakes, and black pepper (to taste) in my spice grinder. I add that mix to the juice and zest from 1 lemon, 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar, and olive oil - more than is called for in the recipe, but I really don't measure.
I find that about 8 hours of marination give the shrimp good flavor without overpowering the taste of the shrimp itself.
After "rinsing" the shrimp in the marinade to get off most of the spices, I serve the shrimp over greens, with a light drizzle of good olive oil and a wedge of lemon. I've gotten many compliments on the dish, which I use as a starter. NOTE: I've found that 1.5 pounds of shrimp makes a nice, but not too filling, starter for 4-5 people. That allows about 8-9 shrimp per person. (Plus some for tasting!) Also, next time I make it, I'm going to try topping it with a bit of chopped avocado....

I might get banned from sending in reviews for these comments. I was incredibly disappointed with this recipe. Made it this afternoon for a dinner party tomorrow and decided to take a taste tonight. Good thing I did - I would have been embarrased to serve this to my guests. The expensive shrimp, which were cooked perfectly, were "cooked" by the lemon in the marinade and became tough and chewy and they shrank. It was also way too salty even though I cut down the salt, and omitted the pickling spices. Waste of time and money.